[May 4, 2012] KBS Music Bank Highlights + Commentary

As I said yesterday, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I've come to a half-conclusion that I should just keep writing through whatever it is I'm going through right now. And, if I feel like writing, I should. So, here we are! Honestly, today's show had quite a nice line-up, and the right mix of new and old.

(I'll add in the 4Minute video once I find one :D)

EXO-K - "MAMA"
The high notes are still painful, but their vocals are starting to take shape and develop attitudes. The same goes with their performance as a whole -- they're showing the beginnings of a group dynamic, as well as a sense of effortlessness. This is the point where I say I'll keep my eye on them, and hope they get a better second single.

B.A.P. - "POWER"
Apart from that hilarious gif of them with rice bowls for heads, I never really took notice of these guys, but honestly, I get what I was missing. I'm not a big fan of the song, and their over-all direction in general, but I actually enjoyed the performance. The guys who sing, can sing, and most of all, they look like they genuinely enjoy the stage. Even if it's a very rugged song and performance, they move with grace and just the right amount of confidence.

Supernova - "Stupid Love"
Like I said before, I hate the song, and I hate it even more for Supernova, and it doesn't help their cause that they sound horrible singing it. Obviously, I'd take their Japanese material over this, every single time.

U-Kiss - "DORADORA"
Everything about this bores me to death. There's very little dynamics, and the chorus is basically them whispering "DORADORADORADORA", so the song itself is extremely boring, U-Kiss vocals generally need to be carried by the song, so when you have something like this obviously they're going to sound flat, and this performance wasn't exactly jaw-dropping either.

SNSD (Taeyeon, Tiffany, Seohyun) - "Twinkle"
Taeyeon sounds amazing, she really does -- this song, flaws aside, was made for her. Still side-eyeing Tiffany and whoever made the decision for her to sing like a 3 year-old for half the song, and honestly, Seohyun lacks power in her voice, something this song badly needs. Her voice is smooth and she sings the line down to the last note, but her high notes are off at times and incredibly weak -- they lack attitude. Although, today's performance was much better than yesterday's, which is always a good thing.

Shinhwa - "Venus"
I don't know if I just missed it last week or something, but Hyesung's out of his chair and back dancing! A few cracks here and there, which kind of brought the performance down in terms of the Shinhwa side, but the atmosphere was something else. Shinhwa may be next to irrelevant with the international fandom, and new fans who haven't bothered, but watching these music shows and hearing how much louder and wilder their fan chants are, over the likes of SNSD, just goes to show how much they matter. Of course, I got the obligatory goosebumps from the combination of the song, the performance, and the wild, screaming fans. That's one of the main reasons why I don't believe in MR removed videos -- performances were meant to be heard as a whole, and taken as such. *joins the wild screaming fangirls*

SISTAR - "Alone"(WINNER)
Since I assume Hyorin's not sick anymore, she sounds like her normal self, but other than that, there's been little progress since I last did a recap, and Hyorin being sick doesn't really count as a basis either. Everything's still as cheesy and ungraceful as it was, outfits included. Which is why I'm extremely surprised that they're actually winning left and right.

[April 21, 2012] MBC Music Core Highlights + Commentary

Today's show featured comebacks from Girls' Day and Supernova, and goodbye stages from CN Blue, who I'm not recapping today, and SHINee.

And before we start, I just really want to thank you all for the support you've put in to the return of these recaps, all your comments and the discussions you engage in because of my posts somewhat drive me to keep writing these recaps. To know that people still actually take time to read my work means a lot to me. But enough of the mush.

EXO-K - "MAMA"

I've half-figured out and made sure of why EXO look so stiff on stage -- it's because they've overdoing it, to the point where, again, they don't enjoy it. While I understand that it's natural to over think performances, and it's actually for that reason that I stopped performing, EXO are supposed to be in it for the long run. Or at least that's what I assume. If they themselves cannot start genuinely enjoying their performances, then their audience won't either.

BTOB - "Insane"

Now the problem with BTOB has something to do with dynamics again. There are seven of them on stage, but it seems like there are more, like the stage is crowded, because they're not moving as a group. Their vocals are fine, their song is so-so but fits them, but they have to work on their group dynamic.

Spica - "Painkiller"

Their vocals were ever so slightly slipping today, but nothing majorly bad and/or painful happened, and the song is still as bland as it was yesterday, despite the girls' efforts.

Girls' Day - "Oh My God"

I'd love to say that their vocals were actually consistent and that I just really hate them, but then... what vocals? They sound like three year-olds begging you to buy them something. All of them.

SISTAR - "Alone"

In fairness to SISTAR, Soyu (is that her name?) sounds a lot better, and thus that much more relevant today. At least Hyorin's not the only one properly carrying the melody during live performances anymore. Other than that though, I practically fell asleep during today's performance. The song itself is a song that needs to be carried with both grace and attitude, and while SISTAR do have attitude, it's not coupled with grace, so it just becomes boring.

Supernova - "Stupid Love"

When Supernova were promoting "On The Days I Missed You", I adored them. They were a b-list group with lots of potential, and above all, brilliant material. It was a shame that they weren't more famous in Korea. However, this time around, it seems like they've degraded, and now they're just another b-list band with sub-par, generic material. "Stupid Love" sounds a BEAST reject, rejected because it was too cheap, even for Cube. And it's obvious that this song doesn't fit them, because they can't sing it live. It's not that they're completely untalented, because they're actually all pretty okay, and Sungje reminds me of a cross between a young Hyesung and a young Jaejoong, who are both gods in their own right, it's that they need good material or else they'll just disappear in the sea of b-list acts.

4Minute - "Volume Up"

So I see we're still turning the backing track way too high during the parts that matter, huh, Music Core? The performance itself was consistently okay today, and if there's one thing 4Minute knows how to do, it's carry a song with the right kind of attitude.

SHINee - "Sherlock"

I liked the camera effects they put in today's performance, a lot more than the spinning cameras everyone used to use. It's subtle and tasteful, it wasn't over-the-top and that sense of "live" still remained. Vocals were consistent today -- again, not as powerful as I'd like them to be, but good enough for me not to be in any pain.

Shinhwa - "Venus"

In all honesty, for the songs that Shinhwa are doing now, Minwoo should take over lead vocals. While Hyesung's voice is godly and we should all worship it, it's very picky, and rather shaky live. They need a lead singer who can not only sing well, but who is versatile and stable enough to carry the band, regardless of what kind of material they get. But that's just me. On the performance side, again, they are so good at performing that it looks effortless, it feels effortless, and they have total control over the audience.

[#27] Supernova - "クリウンナレ"

From: "4U" (Album)
Released: June 2011 (Single) and November 2011 (Album), Japan
Rating: 3.35

I will seriously find every possible way to include this song in every single year-end list I make, because if you remember, this was also #24 on last year's list. But really, after two years and three versions, it's become one of my all-time favorite K-Pop songs.


There's nothing much to say anymore, because I've said everything in my two other reviews of this song, but I do have to say that the Japanese version has a much better flow, courtesy of the nature of the Japanese language. That flow provides a really nice contrast to the very stiff, slightly packed instrumental.

And those drums, my gosh those drums. They not only sound real, they FEEL real. It's the type of drums that literally makes your heart pound along, but they also give the song much-needed dynamics. The type of drum, the rhythms it plays, and the manner in which it was executed was spot-on.

Lace all of that with a smooth but punchy piano line, strong vocals and an exploding chorus, and well, you have brilliance. How this song was not a hit will forever be beyond me.

#24: Supernova (Cho Shin Sung) - On The Days I Missed You

I admit that when I first wrote about this, I got a little mixed up with the terms (to the person who corrected me, thanks. ;D), mainly because my brain had just gone through the biggest test of my life. So yeah. Now's the time to correct some things, and like always, fangirl over the song!


Supernova are now on the upper half of my favorites list, mainly because they've gotten the closest to DBSK's strategy for Japan - sign to a Japanese label and do things the Japanese way. I always say this - you cannot approach a foreign industry the same way you do your own, things just don't work that way. In term of music you obviously shouldn't change for a new market, but in terms of how you sell your music and ultimately, yourself, it should change. That goes out not only to the bands trying to break Japan, but also the US. The reason why you people remain "big stars in Korea" is because you approach things like "big stars in Korea".

Fame may come slower if you work your way through the foreign way, but when it comes it literally pours. Look at DBSK - it took them 3 albums, countless singles, (actual) CONCERT TOURS and a heck of a lot of hard work to get on top, but when they did, Japan fell to their feet. Willingly. And to a certain extend, SS501 were like that too, actually. You don't get the same kind of respect from the people who matter if you don't do what they did, and what Supernova are doing.

So after finding moderate success in Japan (they peaked at #2 on the weeklies, I believe), they went back to Korea for a while, armed with this fantastic single.

On The Days I Missed You has dynamics, like a lot of other songs on the list, but it also has groove. The crisp piano line laced with the "sharp but full" drum part and the catchy melody make for a fantastic song, and one you don't hear very often in kpop. But it's not just the song that made sense, the execution of the vocals was spot-on. Sungje (I call him the Jaejoong of Supernova) has a gorgeous, gorgeous, voice both live and recorded, and the rest of the band have respectable and sometimes interesting voices, with conviction.

All I really want in life is a convincing song, to be honest with you. With conviction comes effortlessness, and with effortlessness comes beauty. I got that with this.

Cho Shin Sung - 그리운 날에

So before I get to my actual review, there's something I wanna (kinda) announce. Pop Reviews Now is on this month's issue of Meg, a major teen fashion magazine in the Philippines. If you'd like to see a photo of the feature, it's here. Considering that I used to want to work for that magazine, it's a rather big thing. But anyway, on to business. ;D

Supernova debuted in Korea, along with a few other bands that have pretty much fizzled away. If you look at their Korean discography, you would've thought they did too (fizzle away, I mean), but the reason for their non-existence in Korea was because they were in Japan, signed to MCA Universal (Japan), trying to make it big there. A few members were involved in that TTL (Time To Love) project with girl group T-Ara, but that's basically all they did in Korea for a good 2 years. As far as I remember, they got to either a #3 or #2 position on the Oricon Charts, the Billboard of Japan, and that's a pretty big thing, considering it ranks the biggest singles of the second biggest industry in the world, and it took DBSK a good 3 albums before they hit number one.


Well they're back in Korea now, and to be honest with you, even if I thought it was stupid to try and make it in Japan without making it in Korea, I'm thankful they did the very thing I thought was stupid.

I decided that instead of writing my review the minute I hear the song, I'd let it sit a while. So I was listening to this new Supernova/Cho Shin Sung single all day in school, and I'm actually rather impressed.

그리운 날에 is a Brave Brothers creation, and to a certain extent it really sounds like one. On the surface it mirrors a U-Kiss song, or even something the duo produce for themselves, but underneath the stereotypical verse-chorus-verse-chorus-middle8-chorus structure with some rapping thrown in just because they can is a song with that much more class and sophistication than your run-of-the-mill Korean "R&B" number.

The hook sticks, but it's not the annoying kind that can get very unpleasant after a few listens and a week's worth of promotions - it's an actual melody with actual notes involved, people like you and me can actually hum along to it, but we also remember it.

Another thing I really like about this song is the percussion part. The structure is half-ordinary, half-not so ordinary, but the type of percussion - the sharp but full sound, similar to a snare drum with a lower pitch, if I'm correct, gives the song a sense of swing - it's got groove. It's not this robotic, obviously-computerized mess of a piece - this is what I mean when I say the percussion part of a song is one of the most important parts of a song, if not the most. It's also got a sense of dynamics because of it - there's a build-up, a break down, and the different instruments tone down and build up at certain points. There are so many things you can do with a percussion part, and yet it is the foundation of your song - what you do do to it will ultimately steer the entire song in either a good or bad direction.

I kinda attribute this creativity and little hint of sophistication to the fact that they were active in the Japanese industry for 2 years or so - they were exposed to musicians, and ultimately creativity. They also got a heck of a lot better live vocals, I saw a cut from one of their tour dates, and the guy who sings the most really sounds phenomenal, with respect to the recording. Japan gave them an edge, and I wouldn't be surprised if they had even just a little influence in deciding which song to promote, or even actually producing this.

4.7/5

Best of 2009: December #8 - #3

YES! We've made it to the end of the year. FINALLY! 8 songs this month - let's get started.

#8: The Banned of St. Trinians - Up and Away

This is the 'chic' part of British music - the sophisticated one. At least it is for me. It's edgy, it's young and it sounds Brit though and through. I love the vocals on this and the chorus is very catchy. Thank God for a song without processing. Hahah.

#7: Girls Can't Catch - Echo

They may sound way too much like The Saturdays but I dunno, Echo as a song is pretty good. It sounds a heck of a lot like The Sats and the verses may be a little bleh but the chorus is catchy. The vocals are OK, a little resonant to my ears, but the hook does the trick on this song.

#6: Supernova - My Destiny

I honestly think Supernova should concentrate on Korea before they even try breaking Japan. I know DBSK went over there in their early days but they already had a name in Korea when they made their first attempt - Supernova only got popular for their project group with T-Ara. But that aside, when I first heard My Destiny I thought it was good, processing aside. THe melody competent, the vocals good and the over-all song very current. When I listened to it more though, I realized that it sounds a lot like the work of a certain swedish producer - RedOne.

Just when I thought it sounds like a RedOne song, turns out it's too close to RedOne for comfort. Can you guess? So I did some digging and My Destiny is called Just Like That in Sweden - it's a cover of a Danny Saucedo song. Believe me, when I found out I was banging my head on the computer table. IT IS SWEDISH. So that's why I kinda liked it. Though I'm sorry to say it but the Danny version is better. Oh well. Also note that I discovered this BEFORE I saw the info on the YT video below. Just to clarify. Hahah.

#5: SNSD & Super Junior (part of them) - S.E.O.U.L. Song

It's the stereotypical advertisement song/"jingle" with stereotypical SNSD and Super Junior vocals - not good, not bad. The only problem is that I just can't stop listening to it and I like the cinematography of the video (LOL). Besides, the more I listen to it the more I actually start thinking it's a pretty good song. I mean it'll never be the next Genie or anything like that but you know, it's better than a lot of other crap that's out these days.

#4: Katharine McPhee - How

I seem to be one of the few who enjoyed her first album to a certain extent (heck, I have a physical copy of it! But that was mainly because I didn't know where to get albums back then) but on Idol I didn't like her - the season she was in pretty much failed. Well she's back and after a few fails after her first album, I'm pretty glad to say that I kinda liked this new song. It's a new sound for her but for some reason it doesn't seem far from what she used to do - even if it is. It's a logical leap and I love it. I love the real drums, I love the melodies and her vocals fit this kind of song. It gets epic later in the song and I love that too. How  by  popreviewsnow

#3: Brave Brothers feat. 2 guys from U-Kiss - Finally

The first thing that led me to this song was the rather strange video (see below) and at first listen it's one of those generic R&B mid-tempos that all sound the same. It still is. So why the crap is it on this list? For two reasons, actually. The first is the chime-like part at the beginning (it's computer generated and all but yeah) - it's GORGEOUS. Add the sparkly stuff after that and that alone is enough to make me melt. It did. The second reason is a more obvious one - the melody. It's probably one of the most beautiful melodies I've heard all year - it's flat-out gorgeous. I was humming it in class the other day and I was like "damn, this is gorgeous".